In this comprehensive 90-minute tutorial on the Cisco Networking Academy’s CCNP ENCOR v8 Packet Tracer activity 9.2.2 (Advanced OSPFv2 Configuration) we leave no stone unturned in taking a deep dive look at some more advanced OSPFv2 settings. We examine the activity topics of changing the OSPF hello- and dead-intervals, and how to manipulate the flow of Layer 3 traffic using the bandwidth command under an interface. However, it is here where the conversation turns to truly advanced topics such as why you would not use the bandwidth command (unless it is being used to represent the actual speed of the link) the bandwidth command to perform Layer 3 traffic engineering, we cover how OSPF determines the cost per interface using the auto-cost reference bandwidth, we cover the inverse relationship between the link speed and the interface cost, we discuss asymmetric routing in cases where only one side of the link has the cost manipulated and how the best way to manipulate the flow of OSPF traffic is with the ‘ip ospf cost’ interface configuration command. We dig deeper into cost manipulation and L3 TE by adjusting the reference bandwidth setting on routers to see how the calculation of the interface metric changes and what it means when you have very fast (i.e., 10Gbps links) and some very slow (i.e., 64/128Kbps links) in the same OSPF routing domain with the reference bandwidth set to 10000 Mbps – you end up with the reverse of the problem (max interface cost of 65535) originally seen with 1/10/100Gbps links all having a cost of 1. Enjoy, and for those of you celebrating Christmas, I hope you have aa very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
***This video is an in-depth tutorial and is far more than simply an answer key to the aforementioned Packet Tracer activity. This tutorial is being made to assist my UMGC CMIT-455 learners in their journey through the ENCOR v8 material so, if you are just looking for a shortcut or easy answers for the activity, this is not the video you should watch. However, if you are looking to gain a deeper understanding on inter-VLAN routing configuration and designs, my hope is that this will increase your comprehension and help you to become a better and more effective network engineer. Enjoy!
*This techtorial/Packet Tracer activity is all done running Cisco Modeling Labs (CML) v2.1.1-b19, some physical routers in my Evil Command Center Lab and/or Packet Tracer version 7.3.1.0362 (for the Mac) which was just recently released! The MINIMUM version you can use for any of the new CCNAv8 curriculum activities is Packet Tracer v7.3.0! Be sure to leave your feedback and questions below and I hope I have earned the privilege of your time!